How to Fix SharePoint Deletion Blocked by a Compliance Policy
Question details
The user is unable to delete documents, folders, or sites in SharePoint due to an active compliance policy or retention hold.
- Product
- Microsoft SharePoint
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Attempting to delete files, folders, or sites within a SharePoint environment managed by an organization.
- Observed behavior
- SharePoint prevents the deletion, displaying an error indicating that the item is preserved by a retention policy, eDiscovery hold, or is located in the Preservation Hold Library.
Ensure you have the necessary administrative privileges in the Microsoft Purview compliance portal, as modifying retention policies and eDiscovery holds requires global or compliance admin rights.
Review Microsoft Purview Retention Policies and eDiscovery Holds
Identify and adjust active retention policies, labels, or legal holds that are preventing the deletion of your SharePoint content.
SharePoint prevents deletion when files are under a retention policy or eDiscovery case to ensure legal and regulatory compliance. You must exclude the site or user from these policies before deletion is allowed.
Log in to the Microsoft Purview compliance portal (formerly Office 365 Security and Compliance Center) using an administrator account.
Navigate to 'Data lifecycle management' or 'Information governance' to review all active retention policies applied to SharePoint sites.
Go to the 'eDiscovery' section to check if the specific SharePoint site is currently placed under a legal hold.
If appropriate, edit the retention policy to exclude the specific site or remove the eDiscovery hold. Allow time for the policy change to take effect.
Use PowerShell to Delete Stubborn Folders
If retention policies have been disabled but you still receive a deletion error, use SharePoint Online Management Shell to force deletion.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Preservation Hold Library in SharePoint?
The Preservation Hold Library is a hidden system library created automatically when a retention policy or eDiscovery hold is applied to a site. It stores copies of modified or deleted files to ensure they are preserved for compliance. Items here cannot be manually deleted.
Why can't I delete a folder even after turning off the retention policy?
Policy changes in Microsoft 365 can take up to 24 hours to propagate across all servers. Additionally, there might be hidden files remaining in the folder, or another overlapping compliance policy (like an eDiscovery hold) might still be active.
Can a site owner bypass a compliance policy to delete files?
No, site owners cannot override organization-wide retention policies or legal holds. Only compliance administrators or global administrators can modify Microsoft Purview settings to release the hold.
